2018 National High School Exam: 4.99 points are not rounded to 5

The Ministry of Education and Training has just issued a Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Regulations on National High School Examinations and High School Graduation Recognition compared to Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BGDDT issued on January 25, 2017.

Odd scores on essay tests are rounded to 2 decimal places.

The most notable point in this revision is the scoring of essay tests.

Article 25 is amended and supplemented as follows: "The test is graded on a 10-point scale; the odd points of the total score of the entire test are rounded to 2 decimal places"

Thus, the only remaining essay subject in the 2017 national high school exam, Literature, will not be regulated to take up to 0.25 points as previously regulated. There will no longer be cases where different odd scores are converted to the same level at 0; 0.25; 0.5; 0.75 as before. That is, suppose in the case of a candidate getting 4.99, it will not be rounded up to 5 points and will be different from a candidate getting 5.01.

Regarding handling candidates who violate exam regulations, instead of revoking their right to study at schools in that year and revoking their right to take the exam for the next two years, the new Circular amends Clause 6, Article 49 to:

“Cancel the exam results and prepare a file to send to the competent authority for consideration and handling according to the provisions of law for candidates who violate one of the following errors: Forging documents to enjoy preferential or incentive regimes; Using illegal diplomas and certificates; Letting others take the exam or do the test for them in any form; Having acts of causing disturbance or sabotaging the exam; assaulting officials or other candidates; Using illegal exam result certificates.

Remove priority for children of beneficiaries of policies such as war invalids

The new circular also removes the word “disabled soldier” in the phrase “people who enjoy policies like war invalids and sick soldiers” in the first and second lines of point a and the second and third lines of point b, clause 1, Article 36 (regarding priority points for subjects eligible for 0.25 and 0.5 points). This means that priority is removed for the subject “children of people who enjoy policies like war invalids”.

The cost of participating in organizing the exam is paid by the locality.

According to the Circular, universities and colleges that establish delegations of staff and lecturers to coordinate the organization of exams at examination councils in localities as directed by the Ministry of Education and Training will not have to pay for travel and accommodation expenses for staff and lecturers participating in the organization of exams.

Instead, the budget for cadres and lecturers of universities, academies, colleges and universities mobilized by the Ministry of Education and Training to their localities to participate in organizing exams will be paid by the localities according to current regulations.

This Circular takes effect from April 15, 2018.